Machine for capping bundles of tie wires



May 22, 1923.

P. WRIGHT MACHINE FOR CAPPING BUNDLES OF TIE WIRES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 50, 1921 Ma 22, 1923. v P. WRIGHT MACHINE FOR CAPPING BUNDLES, OF TIE WIRES File d Dec. 30 192 1 3 Sheets-Sheet May 22, 1923. 1,455,953

P. WRIGHT MACHINE FOR YCAPIPING BUNDLES OF TIE wnuzs Filed Dec. 50 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 mm "at,

Patented May 22,, 1923.

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A T r i i c PARVIN WEIGHT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FORCAPPING BUNDLES OF TIE WIRES.

Application filed December 30, 1921. Serial No. 526,046.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PARVIN WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Clucago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois ,-have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Capping Bundles of Tie Wires; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as- Referring to the accompanying drawingsforming a partof this specification, in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views: I

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic, side elevational view of a machine made in accordance with'this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of one form of cap suitable for use in this invention;

Fig. 3 is a side view part1 broken away, of 'a bundle of wires or ba e ties with the cap applied;

Fig. 4. is a sectional-view of the parts shown in Figure 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figure 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through-the cap holding member and crimping cone showing the parts in position just before the cap is crimped into place;

' Fig. 7 is a sectionalview similar to Fig.

6, showing the position of the parts after the cap has been crimped into place;

. Fig. 8 is an end elevational view of the segmental crimping cone and ring holding member detached from the machine;

Fig. 9 is a view on the line 9-9, of Fig. 8, looking in the direction-of the arrows;

which will be simple Fig. 10. is. a view on the line '10-10 of Fig. 8 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 11 modified form of cap;

Fig. 12 is adiagrammatie view partly broken away, of a bundle of tie wires provided with the cap shown in Fig. 11, crimped in position at each end;fand

Fig. 13 is a sectional view of an end portion of the parts shown in Fig. 12.

In order that the invention may be the better understood, it is said: In' recent years there has appeared on the market difierent types of machines, which twist together under tension parallel bights of a wire which has been wrapped around the package to be wired. These wires cannot conveniently be cut from a coil of wire and used in these machmes, for they are so stifl their natural is a side elevational view of a curvatures would make it inconvenient to a handle the same. Therefore,- it is customary to pass the coiled stiif wire through straightening machines which takes out this natural curvature, and cuts-the wires into predetermined lengths of say from 8 to 12 feet, according to the size of the packages to be banded. The machine, while cutting these lengths of straightened wires, also provides their extreme ends with flattened portions by deforming or mashing down'the same in order that they may the better function in the banding machine, and it may count out the wires into lots of, say 200. The result is a bundle 40, of wires having enlarged ends, so that each end of the'bundle is larger than its normal body portion. This bundle is quite heavy, the wires are of mild steel, and as it has to be shipped for long distances to the place of use, it constitutes a trouble some problem to so protect the ends of the individual wires that'they will not become injured during transportation and give trouble when operating the banding mathine. Heretofore, the ends of the bundles 40 have been covered with heavy fabric material. which has been tied around the bundies, butthe steel wires when stood on end soon cut through this covering, and become distorted. Such coverings although the best expedient devised prior to this invention, are nevertheless, very unsatisfactory in practice.

This invention overcomes the above mentioned objections by providing the means and mechanism now to be disclosed. Referring more especially to Figs. 1 and 5, 1 indicates any suitable support, on which is mounted a. castin 2 having at one end a cap holding mem er 3, provided with an opening 4 to receive the caps and which opening is closed by a door 5 hinged as at 6. Said casting 2 15 also provided near its 'middle portion with the standard 7, and at its other end portion with the enlargement 8, adapted to support the motor 9, and to supply the gear box 10, all as will be clear from Figs. 1 and 5. Said cap holder 3 is provided with the flange 11, through which pass the reciprocating rods 12, and which rods carry on one end the ring member 1 1 by any suitable fastening means, such, for example,ias the nuts 13. Said rods freely reciprocate through the flange 11 and standard 7, by a means to be described, and therefore they move toand fro the cone shaped segments 15 which are secured inside said ring 14 by the connections illustrated. Outside said ring 14 said segments 15 are held together by the spring ring member 16 in such a manner as to form an expansible hollow cone, and this said cone and segments carry on the inner surface of its smaller end the beveled surfaces 18, adapted to contact with and to crimp inward toward their axes, the outer edges 21 of the caps 20.

The inner surface of the cap holding member 3 is beveled as at 21 to receive the inner end of the hollow segmental cone .15, and the extreme smaller end of said cone 15 is beveled as at 22 in order to facilitate the sliding of the same on the interior 21' of the cap holder 3, all as will be clear from Figs. 6, 7, 9 and 10. I

The motor 9 is provided with the operating shaft 25 carrying the worm- 26 engaging the worm gear 27 mounted'on the shaft 28 carrying the cranks 29.at each end, and crank pins 30 to which are joined the rods ,or pitmansfifconnecting the reciprocating cross head 32 towhich said pitmans 31 are pivotally secured as at The rods 12 are provided with the nuts 34: and 33 located on eachside of the cross head '32 and a con siderable distance therefrom so that as said cross head'reciprocates there is a considerable lost motion before the said rods 12 and segment cone 15 are reciprocated. On the other hand, the operation of the motor through the gearing just mentioned will move said cone 15 well out of the cone shaped portion 21 of the capper 3 and cause it to dwell there for an appreciabletime so that-the,operator can slip a cap 20 through the opening at into position, and can also slip a bundle of wires 40 through said segment cone l5 and into said cap, preparatory to crimping the same before the return readily understood from the foregoing, but I may be briefly summarized as follows:

When a bundle of, say, 200' tie wires is to be capped, in order to protect their ends before shipment, said bundle 40 is thrust through the center of the hollow segmental cone member 15 and into the cap 20 which has been previously brought to the position illustrated in Fig. 6.

In the meantime, the motor 9 through the shaft 25, the gears 26 and 27, the cranks 29, the pitmans 31, the cross headw32, and the nuts 34 and 35, and the rods 12, will reciprocate said conevshaped member .15 in such a manner that when it reaches the position edges 21 of the caps 20 and bring them into the position shown, behind the projecting deformed ends 55 of the individual wires illustrated,

.After the caps 20 have been thus crimped into position, the bundle 10 of wires with the caps protecting its ends maybe readily withdrawn owing to the fact that as the cone shaped member is reciprocated out of the capping member 3, its spring 16 will so enlarge or expand the smaller end of the cone as to enable the entire bundleand cap to be withdrawn through the axis of said cone andv another cap to be brought into position. This expanding action is due to the fact that the members 15 pivot around the edge of the ring 14 as a center when the spring 16 draws together their larger ends. This drawing together of the said larger ends is'facilitated by the cut away portions 59'.

In the somewhat modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 11,12 and 13, the

such case, however, the-openings 59 between,

the individual members of the cone, see Figure 10, are made much larger than in the preceding figures, so that the smaller end of the cone 15 may be opened much wider than in the preceding cases, and thus enable said cone to get a better grip on the cap56, The capcper 3 need not becha-nged to use the caps 56, for the bent portions 59 of said caps will occupy the cavity 60 somewhat to the left of the edges 21 of the caps 20, as seen in Fig. 6, and the inclined portions 57 of said caps 56 will be bent into shape by the surfaces 18 and 58, of the expansible cone 15, as the latter closes down into 1ts crimping position.

It sometimes happens that one wishes to reciprocate the cone 15 by hand to a different distance and at a different rate from that imparted by the motor 9. To accomplish this, I have provided the hand lever 62 pivoted to the capper at 63; and pivoted In order to conveniently assemble the parts of the cone 15, the ring 14 is provided with a notch 67, through which after all the segments except the last have been assembled, may pass the lug 68 of said last segment, whereupon the ring 14 is turned and all parts locked.-together. y

In order to start and stop the motor 9, there is provided a switch lever 70. pivoted at 71 and having a circuit closing portion 72 adapted to close the motor circuit at 73. Said lever also has the bent portion 74 adapted to be struck by the extension 75 of the crank 29,;as itturnsin a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 1, and which automatically opens the circuit at each revolution of said crank and stops the motor, and makes ready for another operation. The momentum of the parts will cause the extension 75 to clear the portion 74, and it will also take up a part of the lost motion provided by the nuts 34 and 35.

The caps 20 and 56 may be made of any suitable material such as paper, fabric,

metal, etc'., according to the particular hard usage they are to endure, and they may be made with the well known crimped, corrugated,

'1. ,In a tie wire capping machine thecombination of a capping head having an inclined cone-shaped portion and a cylindrical portion adapted to receive a cap;an

smooth or slit edges as desired. In

vfact, the lines in Figs. 2, 11 and 12 are li d i l expansible cone-shaped crimping member provided with a beveled crimping surface on its extreme end and adapted to be guided by the cone-shaped portion of said head and to be forced into a crimping relation with said cap; and means for reciprocating said expansible crimping member, substantially as described. 1

2. In a tie wire capping machine, the combinatlon of a capping head having an inclined cone-shaped portion, an opening throu h which caps may be passed, and acylin rical portion adapted to receive a cap;

an expansible cone-shaped crimping member provided witha bevele'd crimping surface onits extreme end adapted to be guided.

by the cone-shaped portion of said head and to be forced into a crimping relati ith said cap; and means comprising aguide rod and a cross head for reciprocating said expansible crimping member, substantially as described.

3. In a tie wire capping machine the combination of a capping head havlng an inclined cone-shaped portion and a cylindrical. portion adaptedto receive a cap; an expansible cone-shaped crimping member adapted to be guided by the cone-shaped portion of said head and to be forced 1nto a crimping relation with said cap; and means comprising a guide'rod, a motor and connections between said motor and guide rod for reciprocating said expansible crimping member, substantially as described.

4. In a tie Wire capping machine .the combination of a capping head having an 1nclined cone-shaped portion and a cylindrical portion adapted to receive a cap; an expansible cone-shaped crimping member having a hollow interior through which may pass a bundle of wires to be capped, the crimping end of said crimping member adapted to be guided by the cone-shaped portion of said head and to be forced into a crimping relation with said cap; and means forreciprocating said expansible crimping member, substantially as described.

5. In a tie wirecapping machine the combination of a capping head having a portionto receive the cap and a cone-shaped portion to guide and compress the crimping member; a hollow expansible cone-shaped member whose smaller end is adapted to be guided and compressed by said first named cone-shaped portion and whose interior hollow portion is adapted to have the end of a bundle of tie wires passed therethrough and into the cap; and reciproeating means for operating said hollow cone-shaped member to crimp said cap about said bundle end, substantially as described.

6. In a tie wire capping machine the combination of a stationary capping head having a cylindrical portion to receive the cap and a cone-shaped portion to guideand compress the crimping member; e, reciproeating hollow expansible cone-shaped member Whose smaller end is adapted to be guided and compressed by said first named cone-shaped portion and whose interior hollow portion is adapted to have the end of a bundle of tie wires passed therethrough and into the cap; and reciprocating means comprising a pair of vguide rods, e cross newness head, a power applying means connectedi to W PARVIN WRIGHT, 

